Embarking on the post-graduation journey from intern to full-time is a transformational time, holding the promise of professional development, personal growth, and valuable lessons. This blog introduces you to Sage Leone, a Software Engineer on the CRM Datasets Backend team, who started off as an intern but now joined us as a full-time HubSpotter.
We wanted to see what that journey looked like up close, so we virtually caught up with Sage to get a glimpse into the start of her career and what life has been like since. Over to you Sage!
Can you sum up your internship experience @ HubSpot?
I was a backend engineering intern in the Summer of 2022, working on the CRM. Through my internship, I got to work on high-impact customer-facing projects - some of which are in use in the CRM today - all while being supported by the most incredible team of engineers. It was easy to see that HubSpot was a place where I could feel challenged, welcomed, and pushed to constantly grow, making the choice to come back full-time an easy one.
What were the (other) driving factors in your return?
The two biggest reasons I came back to HubSpot were the autonomy and the welcoming culture. Even as an intern, I was trusted to contribute to projects with real impact. That first “Deploy to PROD” button push came terrifyingly fast but quickly became an autonomy that I greatly appreciated. However, this did not translate to being without community. From the first day, I stepped into the office and I felt welcomed. From lunchtime to ice cream runs, to after-work hangouts. Support was always there in my professional life too; no HubSpotter has ever rejected an ask for help, a Zoom, or a coffee chat.
What tips or advice would you share for those who are currently students and interns?
My biggest advice is to embrace the opportunities to interact with HubSpotters across the organisation. Everybody I have encountered has been incredibly friendly - always happy to answer a question, review a PR, or invite you to grab a coffee with them. Sometimes, asking a question in that big slack channel is exactly what you need to get unstuck, or, even better, it digs up a conversation about a new way to improve development or the product!
You can make an impact too!
And join us in building a company we’re proud of. Learn more about HubSpot’s culture on our careers website and follow HubSpot Life on Instagram or LinkedIn as we continue to share employee highlights, internal celebrations, learnings, and more. Interested in Product @ HubSpot? Have a peek at our Product Blog.
